China News Service, Chengdu, October 14 (Wang Liwen) On October 14, the 2026 Sichuan Cigar Expo and the 8th "Cigar Capital of China" global promotion tour opened in Chengdu. With the theme of "Ancient Sichuan Culture, Chinese Eggplant Rhythm, and Symbiosis of Craftsmanship", this expo adheres to the development concept of "characteristics, diversification, and marketization" and takes product innovation, model innovation, and brand innovation as the overall idea to build a high-end industry platform for national industrial exchanges, technology competitions, brand promotions, and cultural tourism integration.
As the core location of the "Cigar Capital of China", Shifang has more than 400 years of tobacco leaf planting history and a century-old cigar industry accumulation. It is the only "three cigarette base" in the country that has tobacco leaf planting, cigar production, and cigarette production at the same time. The world's largest single cigar production base has been built locally. Domestic high-end handmade cigars account for more than 70% of the market, and the products are exported to more than 20 countries and regions.
At the opening ceremony, Shifang made a special city promotion based on the theme of "inheriting the century-old "eggplant" charm and creating a glorious chapter in the industry". From three dimensions, looking back at the source of "eggplant", tasting the fragrance of "eggplant", and stepping into the realm of "eggplant", Shifang's industrial chain construction achievements were three-dimensionally presented.
This expo has set up a number of core industrial and cultural activities, including the award ceremony of the "Chinese Cigar Rolling Skills Invitational Competition", the launch of the new book "Great Wall Cigars - 100 General Stories about the History of Cigars", and keynote speeches by industry guests. The competition promotes skills and literature builds the soul, focusing on showcasing the craftsmanship and cultural heritage of Chinese cigars.
In recent years, Deyang has continued to work hard to upgrade the entire cigar industry chain. In terms of brand building, the local government has built a solid matrix of the three major brands of Great Wall, Lion Brand, and Izi, and created a multi-echelon product system. The market share of handmade cigars has long been ranked first in the country. In terms of innovation, the city has promoted the joint construction of the domestic cigar leaf industry and the efficient use of the Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory and the Cigar International Joint Laboratory to build the China Cigar Shifang Innovation Industrial Park, creating a The world's first "5G+" cigar digital workshop has been built, and the "Quality Specification for the Purchasing of Cigar Leaf" has become a provincial-level local standard; in terms of integrated development, the "Cigar+" project has been implemented in depth to promote the in-depth linkage between the cigar industry and agriculture, culture, and tourism, develop "Sanxingdui+Cigar" and other high-quality cultural tourism routes, and explore new paths for the integrated development of "cigarettes, culture, agriculture and tourism". Facing the future, Deyang will integrate resources, strengthen standard guidance, build a national first-class cigar planting base and a world-class cigar industrial highland, and enhance the international communication and influence of Chinese cigars.
In recent years, Shifang has been deeply involved in the layout of the entire cigar industry chain, continuing to consolidate the industry foundation and release brand potential. The holding of this expo is to promote production through exhibitions, cultivate talents through competitions, and build brands through culture to further polish the city's business card as the "Cigar Capital of China", promote the deep integration of the cigar industry and the cultural tourism economy, and help local industries build a strong chain and promote the co-prosperity of urban and rural areas.
It is reported that this expo will last until October 16. It adopts the "Chengdu + Shifang" linkage model between the two places and launches multi-dimensional special activities: in the field of industrial exchanges, the joint launch of annual new products and Chinese-style cigar theme salons will be carried out one after another to gather industry wisdom to explore innovative trends; In the field of cultural experience, Chinese cigar night, "Mid-level Appointment" fantasy night, and cigar traceability tour will create immersive experiences and deeply decode the cultural roots of Chinese cigars; in the field of cultural and tourism integration, mountain hiking experience connects landscape and human resources to unlock the diversified business format of "cigar + cultural tourism".
In the next step, Shifang will continue to focus on the cigar specialty industry, adhere to innovation-driven and cultural empowerment, continuously enhance the industrial influence and brand radiation of the "Cigar Capital of China", and promote the sustained and high-quality development of the Chinese cigar industry.
